What is meant by this question?
I answered it anyway:
This is an essay i wrote a few months ago:
Starting in the twentieth century, women began to become more active as industrial labourers in the South African economy. As their numbers gradually grew, they began to take issue with their unacceptable working conditions and decided to take action against them by means of unionisation. Sexual abuse, minimal pay, unfair demands, and societal perception of female inferiority could no longer be tolerated, and motivated the victimized women to fight for rights and respect in the work place. The leaders of the movement, including Johanna Cornelius, Ray Alexander Simons, Emma Mashinini, and Lydia Kompe quickly found that the most effective way to fight for their rights was through unionisation.
Unequal pay in comparison to men was another important issue to women in the labour force. Many women did the same work as men but were paid much less. The miniscule wages that women were paid hardly covered their living expenses. African and Coloured women were usually forced to live in townships, which required a very tiring and expensive commute to get to downtown Johannesburg. Their pay was so small that the majority of it was spent on travel from their homes to the work place. (Mashinini, 1991 15) Ma Baard, another woman that would eventually become a union leader, was also highly motivated by the desire for higher wages. She often told workers ‘No matter where you work, unite against low wages”¦unite into an unbreakable solidarity and organization.’ (Barrett, 1985 119) Desire for adequate wages motivated women to unionize.
The unfair demands placed on the female workers also contributed to their motivation to unionise. The hours that many women were forced to work were brutal (shifts could be up to twelve hours) while they were still required to take care of all of the maintenance of the home. While at work, male supervisors would yell at them to work faster constantly, showing no sympathy for what they were going through. An excerpt from Emma Mashinini’s autobiography demonstrates the ill treatment that the women experienced. After preparing her children’s bread, clothes, and other needs the night before, she would leave for work at 5am, finally arriving at the factory by 7am.
There would be nothing for you at the factory””no tea, no coffee. The tea-break was at a certain time, and if you had brought something from home that would be when you would eat, in that ten minute tea-break later in the day. And if you had brought nothing, your tea-break would be exhausted while you were walking to the canteen and queuing there. By the time you got your coffee and sat down, five minutes had gone, and you would have to swallow everything and then run to back on time. (Mashinini, 1991 15)
However, it was not just tangible issues that motivated women to unionise. They also came together to fight the overriding cultural belief that women were not meant to be perceived as equals to men. In this time period, it was a widely accepted norm that women were not supposed to be public figures or be involved in organisations. Lydia Kompe gave an example of this in South African Women on the Move when she described what was expected of women in the home. They were often treated as objects by their husbands, who expected them to carry out all chores regarding the home and children, even if the wife worked just as much as the husband. (Barrett, 1985 107) In addition, women were not ever allowed to lead men. Put simply, men were in charge, and women were subordinates. This idea contributed to a lack of rights and respect for women in the work place. Women believed it was imperative to fight to quell that way of thinking.